Treatment Outcomes of Patients Switching From an Injectable Drug to Bedaquiline During Short Standardized Treatment for Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis in Mozambique.

Bedaquiline was recommended by the World Health Organization as the preferred option in treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) with long regimens. However, no recommendation was given for the short MDR-TB regimen. Data from our small cohort of patients who switched from injectable drug to bedaquiline suggest that a bedaquiline-based short regimen is effective and safe.

Chronic hepatitis C treatment outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in low- and middle-income countries and identify factors associated with successful outcomes. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of HCV treatment programmes in low- and middle-income countries. The primary outcome was a sustained virological response (SVR). Factors associated with treatment outcomes were identified by random-effects meta-regression analysis. FINDINGS: The analysis involved data on 12 213 patients included in 93 studies from 17 countries. The overall SVR rate was 52% (95% confidence interval, CI: 48-56). For studies in which patients were predominantly infected with genotype 1 or 4 HCV, the pooled SVR rate was 49% (95% CI: 43-55). This was significantly lower than the rate of 59% (95% CI: 54-64) found in studies in which patients were predominantly infected with other genotypes (P = 0.012). Factors associated with successful outcomes included treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, infection with an HCV genotype other than genotype 1 or 4 and the absence of liver damage or human immunodeficiency virus infection at baseline. No significant difference in the SVR rate was observed between weight-adjusted and fixed-dose ribavirin treatment. Overall, 17% (95% CI: 13-23) of adverse events resulted in treatment interruption or dose modification, but only 4% (95% CI: 3-5) resulted in treatment discontinuation. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of treatment for HCV infection in low- and middle-income countries were similar to those reported in high-income countries.

Treatment outcomes of treatment-naïve Hepatitis C patients co-infected with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cohorts.

INTRODUCTION: Co-infection with Hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV is common and HIV accelerates hepatic disease progression due to HCV. However, access to HCV treatment is limited and success rates are generally poor. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess HCV treatment outcomes in observational cohorts. Two databases (Medline and EMBASE) were searched using a compound search strategy for cohort studies reporting HCV treatment outcomes (as determined by a sustained virological response, SVR) in HIV-positive patients initiating HCV treatment for the first time. RESULTS: 40 studies were included for review, providing outcomes on 5339 patients from 17 countries. The pooled proportion of patients achieving SVR was 38%. Significantly poorer outcomes were observed for patients infected with HCV genotypes 1 or 4 (pooled SVR 24.5%), compared to genotypes 2 or 3 (pooled SVR 59.8%). The pooled proportion of patients who discontinued treatment due to drug toxicities (reported by 33 studies) was low, at 4.3% (3.3-5.3%). Defaulting from treatment, reported by 33 studies, was also low (5.1%, 3.5-6.6%), as was on-treatment mortality (35 studies, 0.1% (0-0.2%)). CONCLUSIONS: These results, reported under programmatic conditions, are comparable to those reported in randomised clinical trials, and show that although HCV treatment outcomes are generally poor in HIV co-infected patients, those infected with HCV genotypes 2 or 3 have outcomes comparable to HIV-negative patients.